1970; so called because they are derived from the thymus.
T cell n.
A principal type of white blood cell that completes maturation in the thymus and that has various roles in the immune system, including the identification of specific foreign antigens in the body and the activation and deactivation of other immune cells. Also called T lymphocyte.
T lymphocyte n.
See T cell.
| T lymphocyte also T-lymphocyte See T cell. |
| T cell Any of the lymphocytes that develop in the thymus gland and that act in the immune system by binding antigens to receptors on the surface of their cells in what is called the cell-mediated immune response. T cells are also involved in the regulation of the function of B cells. Also called T lymphocyte. See more at cell-mediated immune response, Compare B cell. |
